One of the senior curators from New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation is on board for a new project as part of Abu Dhabi Art. Alexandra Munroe, a specialist in contemporary art from Asia and well known for organising the first American retrospectives for leading artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Lee Ufan, will bring the work of pioneering […]

One of the senior curators from New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation is on board for a new project as part of Abu Dhabi Art.

Alexandra Munroe, a specialist in contemporary art from Asia and well known for organising the first American retrospectives for leading artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Lee Ufan, will bring the work of pioneering Beijing-based artist Gu Dexin for a new section of the capital’s art fair called Gateway.

Gu’s installations often use organic material left to deform over time and ask the audience to consider the aspect of decay in our life. Munroe will curate the exhibition of his work and is one of five curators brought in to oversee different sections of the fair under the new banner.

“The curated series of exhibitions and programme will bring diverse perspectives on global trends to an inspiring schedule of cultural engagement,” says Rita Aoun-Abdo, executive director of the culture sector at Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. “This edition [of the fair] will present a unique curatorial programme, transforming the concept of Abu Dhabi Art to a place of discovery and discourse, reflecting the exceptional calibre of contemporary cultural practice for which [the fair] is renowned for.”

From the Abu Dhabi Project of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Reem Fadda, who specialises in Middle Eastern Art will curate a newly formulated initiative called Majlis Fann, which will take the form of a cultural salon, where over 100 international and regional artists, curators, gallerists, collectors, museum directors, writers, and various cultural practitioners will be invited to participate through live interviews that will be streamed to the rest of the world.

Long-term Abu Dhabi Art collaborator Fabrice Bousteau is back this year to organise the public art programme and installing large scale works across the fair and Tarek Abou El Fetouh will also return to curate the performance art programme called Durub Al Tawaya.